Keo saw it, too — the raft was being pulled under the lake’s surface.
“You said you saw two people onboard?” he said into the radio.
“Pretty sure,” Lara said. “Blaine was on the pier, and he had the best view.” Then to someone else, “What did you see, Blaine?”
“Two,” Blaine said through the radio. “Probably two.”
“That leaves one still unaccounted for,” Keo said.
“How many lifeboats does a yacht like that hold?”
“Usually one or two. Hold on, let me ask el capitan.”
“He’s still alive?” Lara said.
“Sort of.” Keo looked over at Gage. “Hey, how many lifeboats do you have onboard?”
The man didn’t answer him.
“Gage,” Keo said, louder this time.
When he still didn’t respond, Keo walked over and crouched in front of him. Gage looked dead and was leaning over slightly to one side. Keo pressed two fingers against the side of his neck and detected a pulse. Weak, so apparently Gage had decided to go with the flow after all.
“Keo?” Lara said through the radio. “What did the captain say?”
“He’s unconscious.”
“What did you do to him?”
“I shot him in the kneecap with his own gun.”
“Now why the hell did you do that?”
“It seemed like the thing to do at the time.”
“Let’s…try not to shoot people in the kneecaps unless we have to from now on, okay?”
“Sure, if you want to take all the fun out of this.”
She ignored him and said instead, “So what do we do about the last man? If there’s really only one left?”
“El capitan sounded pretty certain. Then again, he looks like the type that might lie.” He stood up and looked over at the door again. “Sit tight and wait for morning. We’ll figure it out then.”
Lara didn’t answer right away.
“You good with that?” Keo asked.
“I guess I don’t have a choice,” Lara said.
He could hear it in her voice — that burden that came with leadership. He had heard it often enough in people who took on the job that few could do, or wanted to do.
“Relax,” he said. “It’s not coming tonight.”
“What isn’t?”
“The attack you’ve been expecting for the last two days.”
She paused for a moment, then, “How can you be so sure?”
“The bad guys will have heard the shooting. They’ll know something is happening, but they don’t know what. And this boat showing up would have freaked them out. Add all of that with the damage they took yesterday from moi, and if I was them, I wouldn’t attack tonight. I’d wait, because I could afford to wait. It’s not like you’re going anywhere, right?”
“No…”
“And they know that. So my guess is, they’ll wait another day. Which means we don’t have to do anything drastic until then.”
“Captain Optimism, huh?”
“I don’t know what means.”
“Inside joke,” she said. Then, sounding more reassured than a few seconds ago, “Okay. If we’re not moving until sunrise, that means you’ll be on your own for the next six hours. Can you go that long without unnecessarily killing people?”
“No promises.”
She sighed. “I’ll get one of the boats ready, just in case.”
‘Just in case,’ he thought with a smile. The island motto, apparently.
CHAPTER 2
LARA
In the morning light, the Trident’s long, sleek, and sharp features gave it the impression of being a massive white sword, ready to pierce the side of Song Island if it so desired. That seemed to be the only thing the island was good for these days — a target to be attacked.
Maybe keeping it is more trouble than it’s worth, Will. Maybe it’s time to go.
She watched the sun rising in the distance as Blaine, Roy, and Maddie were prepping the bass fishing boat behind her. Everyone was moving on automatic pilot, strung out on coffee and the work in front of them. Bonnie had returned to the hotel to rest, though Lara was surprised Roy was still there. She guessed he was still trying to make up for two nights ago.
“Keo,” she said into the radio. “We’re about to head over to you now. Any word on the eighth guy?”
“What, no good morning?” Keo said through the radio.
She smiled. “Good morning.”
“Good morning to you, too.”
“So, about the eighth guy…”
“Not a peep all night.”
“Are we even sure there’s an eighth guy?”
“I’ll ask the captain again when he’s awake. I guess he’s not a morning person.”
She glanced down at her watch. 7:22 A.M.
Sunrise had come about thirty minutes ago, and she had watched it with barely contained glee from inside the boat shack, where she had been sleeping on a cot. Keo was certain the collaborators wouldn’t attack, not with the mess he had made at their staging area yesterday and the chaos of last night. His reasoning was sound, but then these days you couldn’t always count on logic to save the day.
He had turned out to be right, though, and she had never been more happy to be wrong in her life.
She concentrated on the Trident now. It was almost two football fields away but looked much closer, like she could swim to it with a few strokes. Well, maybe Keo could. She had seen the man swim like a fish the last two nights.
“Boss lady,” Blaine said behind her. “You coming, or what?”
Lara turned around and walked back to them. They were already inside the boat, Maddie settling in behind the steering wheel while Roy sat on a chair up front with his M4 in his lap. Blaine was seated on another chair at the back, next to the outboard motor that sent out puffs of smoke and coughed loudly, sounding as if it was going to die at any moment.
She climbed into the boat and nodded at Maddie. “Let’s go.”
Maddie guided the boat away from the pier. The back dipped slightly as it gained speed, and Lara hurried up to the front to help balance out the weight distribution.
Roy looked over at her and shouted over the roar of the engine, “What about the last guy?”
“I don’t know!” Lara shouted back. She glanced at Maddie and Blaine. “Keep your eyes peeled! He might be waiting for us!”
“If there’s actually an eighth guy!” Blaine said.
“Take no chances! If you see a head, and it doesn’t look like Keo’s, shoot first and ask questions later!”
The big man nodded back and checked his rifle.
The boat had already carried them halfway to the Trident, the yacht growing in size (and sharpness) as they got closer. Lara unslung her own carbine and flicked the safety off without even realizing it.
Jesus. I really have become used to this thing.
“I can’t believe that guy took the whole boat by himself!” Maddie shouted at her. “Let’s make a reminder to ourselves: Don’t piss this guy off!”
“I’m glad he’s on our side!” Roy said.
Lara nodded. She thought about telling them how close she had come to not trusting Keo, but she didn’t. They didn’t need to know the details right now.
Is this what being a leader is, Will? Keeping things from people, for their own good? Making big decisions that could cost everyone their lives and knowing you’re solely responsible for the outcome?
How in God’s name did you ever manage the burden all by yourself all these months? You should have told me. I would have been there for you…the way I wish you were here for me right now…